


Cynicism is just a lazy way to say that you've been burned

by kaminarii



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Dave Has Issues, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Multi, Slow Burn, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-17 16:05:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16099073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaminarii/pseuds/kaminarii
Summary: Dave Strider, a college student majoring in music studies, is to put things eloquently, being a fucking disaster. Karkat Vantas, a troll fresh from Alternia is coincidentally, also a disaster. Rose and Kanaya are there.i can't actually write summaries for shit, but its a homestuck college au and everyone involved is a disaster. merry christmas





	1. Chapter 1

It was a hot summer day, August 26th. The small car shared between the Striders and Lalondes was unloaded the last time, Dave hauling the last of his belongings into his shared dorm. His bedroom had two single beds, he was sharing his dorm with a troll named Kanaya Maryam, and she’d left a note on the counter saying she went out to give Dave room to unpack. There were a kitchen and bathroom shared with their neighbors, which was with Rose and some guy named Karkat. Putting the final touch on his half of the room, an SBaHJ poster he’d designed himself, he stepped back to admire it.

The wall had a few posters on it from music and games he liked, framing his bed. The sheets were plain red and new, the ones on his old bed wouldn’t have fit, and he had shoved the provided pillow under the bed and used his own, far superior, pillow from his bed. Under his bed aside from the pillow was his music equipment and some extra boxes with consoles from his room. He took them mostly to have them, as he didn’t have a tv for the room. On the desk near the window, there was an array of school supplies in the drawers and some pencils in a holder, and his laptop charging on it. He knew it was the cleanest the desk would ever be. In the kitchen, he’d only shoved apple juice in the fridge, and figured he’d get groceries when he was hungry. He only put his basic needs in the bathroom- shampoo and conditioner, a comb and his toothbrush. He left his t-shots under his bed- he didn’t think trolls were transphobic but he wasn’t gonna risk it since he didn’t know these people. 

Kanaya’s side of the room was very neat, with just a few Polaroid pictures on the wall of some trolls, and her bed with jade sheets with some patterns on it. Her desk was cleaner than his, very neat and organized putting Dave’s effort at clean to shame. It was minimalist, but looked really good, especially for a dorm room, and he admitted to himself he was impressed. He pulled out his phone to check the time- he’d only spent about an hour and a half getting his belongings sorted out so he decided to pop into Rose’s room to see what she was up to. He knocked and heard footsteps coming to the door, and it swung open revealing Rose, with just one or two boxes left.  
“Hey Dave,” she said, smiling at him a little. “Your room’s all done, I assume?” She opened the door more to let him in and Dave made his way to the desk, spinning a little as he sat in the desk chair dramatically.  
“Yup, and it's about the cleanest it’ll be. That floor better start writing farewell letters to its family, it's about to never see the light of day again. Poor sucker’s kids are gonna be askin’ where good ol Papa Hardwood went and mom’s gotta tell them he’ll be back any day now and-” Rose interrupted him by throwing a pair of socks she was putting in a drawer at him.  
“I honest to god feel bad for your roommate, Dave. I don’t know if you’ll make it through the semester if they’re one to get annoyed easily,” She laughed, catching the sock as Dave threw it back at her. Dave’s phone went off, and he opened pesterchum to see who it was.

\--tipsyGnostalgic [TG] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 14:39-- 

TG: hey dave when u and rose are done you should come over to my dorm 

TG: dirk is here too 

TG: its 128 in bulding A incase u forgot 

TG: *building 

TG: ok cool 

TG: well be over in a sec 

\--tipsyGnostalgic [TG] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 14:42-- 

“Rose, we’re going to Roxy’s dorm when you’re ready. I think it's just down the hall from here.” Dave mentioned, putting his phone back in his pocket and standing up. Rose nodded, shoving the remaining unpacked box under the bed and grabbing her phone. The two left the room, and found Roxy’s room, down the hall and just around a corner. Dave knocked on the door and it swung open almost immediately, Roxy smiling behind the door and letting the two in. Like Dave and Rose, her roommate is out, although it doesn’t look like they’ve even moved in yet. Dirk is sitting inside on the bare bed and waves at the two. 

Roxy’s side of the room is a mess already, decked out in pinks and posters, photos of her with the people she loved. Dave laughs at one where John was absolutely defeated as he was surprised with a water gun assault on his birthday. Her desk is messy too, with whatever the hell strewed across it and a billion sticky notes on the corkboard already. Dave doesn’t need to look to see what the state of under her bed is like. Roxy smiles at them again, proud of her disaster zone.  
“What do you guys think? Great, right?” Her siblings all gave her a look. She laughed at that, her siblings had never bothered her and they weren't about to start now.

The four of them hung out for a while until Roxy’s actual roommate showed up, a cherub named Calliope who was very polite, and the three dispersed back to their own rooms. When Dave walked back into his own dorm, his roommate was inside and she looked over at him. She was tall and lean, her black hair cut short with two horns, one of them hooked. She wore a plain shirt with her symbol on it with a red skirt and she walked over him to introduce herself.  
“Hello, I am Kanaya. You must be Dave, right?” She extended a hand, and he shook it.  
“Yeah, that’s me. Uh, nice to meet you, Kanaya.” He said. Kanaya walked back over to her end of the room.  
“Some friends of mine are having a welcoming party since today was the last day to move in,” Kanaya said, occupied with putting the sketchbook she was drawing in away. “If you wanted to, you could come with me to meet the neighbors. They’re right across the hall, and I don’t think they would mind.”  
“Sure, may as well. I don’t have anything going on till class starts in a few days, anyway. When is it?” Dave asked.  
“Tonight at seven, don’t actually get dressed up. A more fitting name for the party would be ‘Everyone drinks as much as possible before classes start’. Also, I was talking to your sister earlier, she’ll be there too,” Kanaya mentioned, pulling her phone out. Dave nodded, and since it was five already, decided to get ready to meet the neighbors.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> heres chapter 2! its a lot longer and also we get introduced to some more trolls! dave goes to a party and sucks at socialising nice one loser

Dave was dressed at least slightly better than when he’d gotten here, now showered and wearing his pretty much trademarked record shirt and a newer pair of jeans, and was just combing through the last few strands of hair when his phone buzzed, and he picked it up to see John had been texting him.

\--ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 18:23-- 

EB: hey dave! 

EB: i was talking to rose earlier, she was telling me you guys finally moved in! 

EB: i was wondering when you guys would finally show up, even though i told you guys not to wait till the last day… 

EB: anyway just wanted to let you know i’m in room 112 in the same building as you guys if you need anything! 

TG: hey john 

TG: ok to be fair it was roxy who was taking so long getting packed so its not really my fault 

TG: who am i kidding i totally wasnt planning on being on time 

TG: ill stop in tomorrow though im goin to some party with a buncha people i dont know 

EB: that sounds like fun! my roommate said something about a party too… do you think it might’ve been the same one? 

TG: well john youre across the hall and thats where the partys at so im assuming that thats exactly whats gonna happen 

TG: rose is coming too though so i wont be the only one you know 

EB: oh sweet! i think jades roommate was the one hosting it so i’m assuming that she’s gonna be there too! 

EB: oh, i have to go! see you soon! 

TG: later john 

\--ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 18:39--

Dave slid his phone back into his pocket, and entered the kitchen to get a snack, and realized he’d only brought apple juice. Was it too early to steal from his roommates? His train of thought was interrupted when Rose’s roommate walked into the kitchen and spotted him.  
“Are you the asshole who took an hour-long shower?” He demanded. He was shorter than Dave, by probably around six inches. He was a little chubby and had a mess of hair that almost obscured his nubby horns completely, and dark circles under his eyes. His sweater had his symbol on it, which bore a striking resemblance to… Holy shit.  
“Dude… Is your symbol a sixty-nine?” Dave asked, struggling to hide a grin, especially as the trolls expression got angrier.  
“No, it’s not the human sex number, I’ve had this symbol since I was hatched and it has nothing to do with that! I can’t believe I’m sharing my fucking dorm with you.” He mutters, crossing his arms. Dave succumbs to the grin, looking down at the troll on purpose.  
“So, you’re Karkat. I’m Dave, nice to meet you too, asshole.” He stuck his fist out and Karkat stared at it. “Dude, don’t leave me hanging here! If you don’t bump it then we’re really gonna hate each other, it’s called the fistbump law and its been proven by scientists around the globe, don’t reject science dude.” Karkat rolled his eyes overdramatically before bumping his fist. Dave went back to foraging for snacks when he found… nothing but apple juice. His roommates had the same idea as him and he sighed overdramatically, laying on the floor in fake agony.  
“Karkat… I don’t think I’m gonna make it… tell Rose… that she’s an asshole… Blegh.” He stuck his tongue out but Karkat rolled his eyes again and just nudged him with his foot.  
“Get up assmunch, you’re letting the cold air out of the fridge.” He said and left the kitchen. Dave checked his phone and realized he had to leave, so he got up, threw his shoes on, and spotted Kanaya opening the door and followed her.  
“Sorry, I’m all set, let’s go.” She opened the door and crossed the hallway, and knocked on room 113’s door. John was probably here, as his room was connected to this one, but Dave’s thoughts were interrupted again as the door swung open.

Standing in the doorway was another troll, just about the same height as Dave. Her hair was shoulder length and sharp horns poked out of it, and red tinted glasses sat on her nose, with blood red eyes to match. Her grin was made from shark teeth, and she wore a shirt and pants, and bright red crocs. Dave was the first one to speak.  
“Dude. Nice crocs.” The troll grinned wider.  
“Thanks, idiot! Your shirt smells really good, like cherries!” She said, sniffing the air.  
“Uh, thanks?” Dave asked.  
“Kanaya, you didn’t tell me you were bringing your roomie!” She mentioned, letting them in. Kanaya shrugged.  
“I thought you wouldn’t mind, and you two would probably get along anyway,” She said, walking through the hallway and into the dorm part of the room, which seemed like where most of the people were. Terezi shrugged at that and followed, leaving Dave to do whatever. He wandered into the kitchen, and Jade and John were talking there, Jade turning and waving him over when Dave walked in.

“Hey, Dave! Have you met Terezi yet? She’s my roommate and the one actually hosting the party.” Jade asked, adjusting her glasses as he came over.  
“Yeah, she smelled me? Does she just, do that all the time or-” He asked.  
“Yup. She’s blind and uses her other senses to get around but I think it might just be a troll thing? She licks a lot of stuff she shouldn’t but she always says it tastes like something it couldn’t taste like… It’s kinda weird but when you get used to it it's part of her charm.” Jade explained. The three of them could hear Terezi’s voice from the dorm part of the room loud and clear unlike any of the other voices, which mingled together with whatever music someone was playing. It was just the three of them in the kitchen until a troll with four horns walked past to grab something from the fridge. He was tall, and wore red and blue glasses and had short hair, with a yellow symbol on his shirt. He got a few cans of beer but stopped on the way out to look at Dave.  
“Who’re you?” He asked Dave, setting the beers down on the table.  
“I’m Kanaya’s roomie. She invited me here since we live across the hall.” He answered coolly.  
“Oh. You guys should come to hang out in the other room with the rest of us. The name’s Sollux, by the way.” He turned and grabbed the beers and left again, leaving the three of them.  
“Wait okay… Is his name Thollux or Sollux, it’s hard to tell with the lisp the guy’s packing.” John laughed at that.  
“It’s Sollux, but maybe he’s right… What was the point of coming if we’re just gonna camp out in the kitchen?” Dave shrugged, standing up from leaning against the counter and walked into the dorm, Jade, and John in tow.

There were ten people in the small room, and it was a bit jam-packed with the extra three. They needed a better place to party than dorm rooms, Dave thought. Somebody banged into him, and she turned around quickly.  
“Oh! Sorry! Actually, wait… I haven’t seen you around before, you must be Kanaya’s roommate, right?” She asked. She was tall and had a curtain of hair that came to her hip, with rounded horns and a fuschia symbol on the tank top she wore, matching the color of her glasses, and fins that framed her face. “I’m Feferi, nice to meet you!” She extended a hand and Dave shook it.  
“I’m Dave,” He said, raising his voice a little over the noise. Feferi smiled at him and joined a group of two other trolls a few steps away.

As time went on Dave slowly got acquainted with the trolls at this party, along with the few he’d met: a girl named Aradia, a troll with ram-like horns and a big smile, Nepeta, a short troll with horns like cat ears and a long jacket that almost traced the floor and Vriska, a troll with a weird spider eye that had seven pupils and long hair with two different horns crowing her head. He was told not all their troll friends were here tonight, and that in total there were twelve of them, and they’d been friends for five years at least. After a while, the party started dying down and people were leaving, and Dave was itching to go, tired after making small talk with so many different people. He checked his phone- it was already ten thirty somehow, and he was exhausted after getting moved in.  
“Alright, Strider’s out, I am fucking exhausted.” He announced, and a few people said their goodbyes as he turned and trudged over to his own dorm.

He shut the door as he entered, he was the first out of his roommates to come home. He changed out of his jeans and got in bed, checking his phone.

\--timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 21:42-- 

TT: Hey Dave, me and Roxy are going out to get groceries tomorrow. 

TT: We’ll get you food if you need it while we’re out, as long as you pay us back. 

TT: Text me back when you can. 

TG: dirk you are a godsend 

TG: we desperately need food bro this fridge is emptier than fucking antarticta but if antarticta had a jug of apple juice 

TG: we need uhhhh cereal some instant noodles and twelve packs of oreos stat and like whatever else your Brotherly Instincts tell you i need to eat 

TG: lmk when youre back tomorrow 

\--turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] at 22:35--

With the food predicament now slightly taken care of, Dave could finally get some rest. He plugged in his phone and put it down, getting comfy in bed. He fell asleep nearly the second he closed his eyes.

***

Dave woke up late, sometime around noon. He stretched out as he stood, and noticed Kanaya was out. He foraged around for his wallet, remembering he’d have to pay Dirk back when he got here for food. Dave found the wallet in a bag he stashed under the bed and checked the time. It wasn’t too late, but definitely not early, but he guessed he had maybe an hour at most to kill before he got his food. He wandered around the dorm, looking for something to do before settling for drawing a new Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff page. Dave had kept up the comic for almost 5 years now, although his humor had gotten even better and now most of the readers were there for the irony.

Dave practically ran to the door when there was a familiar knock- Dirk’s specific pattern of taps on the wood- and he swung it open to Dirk holding a few bags of food and Roxy holding her own. Dirk steps into the kitchen and sets down two of the bags, leaving two for himself on his arms.  
“You owe me… thirty bucks? It was in that range, I think,” Dirk says. Dave pulls out the wallet and forks over the money, and Dirk smiles at him.  
“Alright Lil’ Bro, I gotta head back and put this shit in my dorm, but I’ll see you later?” He shrugs as he says it.  
“Yeah alright. Thanks for the food, Dirk.” Dave says as Dirk steps through the door.  
“Anytime. Later,” Dirk says, as Dave closes the door after him and returns to the kitchen.

In the bags, there was about enough food to last him and Rose two weeks, Dirk had actually gotten what Dave had asked for: Fruit Loops, four packs of instant ramen and a box of Oreos. Dirk also bought them some bread and cheese, and a bag of apples that scream ‘you can at least try to eat healthily’. Dave knew that was gonna fall through sooner or later, though. There was also an assortment of snacks like Rice Krispies and granola bars. He decided that Rose could pay him back by covering his food next time they needed some while putting the haul away in the fridge and cupboards. 

After a few hours of doing nothing, Dave’s boredom got the best of him. Kanaya still wasn’t back, and he didn’t really feel like doing anything productive. He’d been just laying around and playing games on his phone and watching Youtube videos, but even that was getting tiring. He decided to walk around campus and find where most of his classes were. He threw on his shoes and left, and after walking across to the main building, spotted Karkat walking around. He started to walk over, and when Karkat noticed Dave coming towards him his expression grew annoyed.

“What the hell do you want?” Karkat asked, still holding his phone. Dave smiled at him.  
“Oh, I dunno. I mostly came over to annoy you,” Dave admitted.  
“Great! You succeeded at your job!” Karkat grumbled, putting his phone away. He sighed but looked back up at Dave. “What were you actually doing?”  
“I was actually doing a mini Strider Style Self Tour of the campus. Since class is starting the day after tomorrow I need to know where I’m going,” He said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “If you wanted you could come with, I feel like we hardly know each other.”  
“That’s because we don’t. We met yesterday.” Karkat shuffles his feet. “But that was what I was doing, so why the hell not,” He adds. Dave shoots him a grin and he starts heading in the direction of another building.  
“C’mon then, let’s get going. The Official Strider Self Tour For Two waits for no one.”


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for such the late update!! lifes been kicking my ass for the past week but chapter four is done and should be out by the end of this week, and hopefully ill get to updating more frequently,

Dave and Karkat had been walking around campus for about half an hour now, finding where their classes would be. Dave had told Karkat he was planning on majoring in music, and had been making music for almost as long as he’d remembered. Karkat, in turn, told him he was becoming an English major because he’d loved reading and writing stories his whole life. Karkat seemed to be warming up to Dave just a little bit, talking to him more, but only calling him even more insults. Hell yes, now they were acquaintances. 

Campus outside the dorms was relatively empty, but Dave guessed the place would be crawling with students in a few days, but the quiet was nice. The sky was dotted with a few fluffy white clouds, but was clear otherwise and not too hot. It was bright though, and Dave was thankful for the shades he always wore because of the sun. Karkat looked over at him as they walked into the main building again, their tour coming to an end.  
“So… What now?” He asked, putting his hands in the oversized sweater he always wore. Dave shrugged, stopping.   
“I dunno. I don’t have shit planned all day so I’m still down to hang if you wanna.”   
“You wanna watch a movie or something? Maybe Kanaya will wanna join too if she’s back from her… Thing.” He trailed off. Dave was curious, but he ignored it.  
“Sure. Are we just gonna watch it on somebody’s laptop or…”   
“No, I have a tv, what did you think? We’d crowd three of us around a fucking laptop?” He asked, starting to walk again, back to the dorms. Dave laughed at that. Karkat shot a text over pesterchum and put his phone back away.  
“Hey, what’s your handle?” Dave asked, catching up to Karkat.  
“It’s... carcinoGeneticist. Although if you send me a million texts at some god-awful hour of the morning, I’m gonna block you.” He hesitated before saying the name, but score, Dave got the handle. He put away his plans of messaging Karkat about some dumbass thing at two thirty in the morning.  
“Cool. Mine’s turntechGodhead, so you’ll know it’s me when I add you.” They stopped at Dave’s door, and he got his keys out.  
“I'll be in your dorm in a few and we can pick a movie. Later dude.” Dave said, entering his own dorm. To his surprise, it was already unlocked, even though Dave was sure he’d locked it. He’d always locked his doors, it wasn’t like him to leave them open.

His questions were answered when he saw Kanaya in the dorm, putting a box away. He waved when she looked up at him.  
“Hey, did Karkat tell you about the movie? Me and him were gonna do something since we got shit all to do and he said you could come if you wanted.” Dave asked, grabbing a bag of popcorn and opening it so he could put it in the microwave.  
“Yes, I got his text just as I was on my way back. Hopefully, Karkat lets us decide the movie today, his choices are almost always romantic movies.” Kanaya said, standing in the kitchen while she waited with Dave for the popcorn to cook. Dave grinned wide.  
“Holy shit, no way,” Dave exclaimed. “I didn’t pin him down as the type for that shit at all.” Kanaya laughed at that, and the microwave dinged. Dave took it out, opened the bag and dumped it into a bowl, and picked it up and crossed into Karkat and Rose’s dorm.

Karkat had the tv set up, and a blanket on the floor since they wouldn’t fit on Karkats bed. Rose was on her laptop on her bed, and she waved as Dave and Kanaya came in. The room was dark since the blinds were closed, and Karkat had Netflix open on his tv. Dave sat down in the middle of Kanaya and Karkat with the popcorn, and Karkat shoved a handful in his mouth before redirecting his attention back to the tv.  
“So, what do you guys wanna watch?”

The rest of the day was spent fighting over the remote, finding a movie, watching it and rinse and repeat. Eventually Rose gave up whatever she was working on to watch movies with the three of them on the floor. The popcorn bowl had been emptied halfway through the first movie, and none of them actually wanted to get up and go get a new batch. Dave had only expected them watching one or two movies, but they were partway through the fourth one when he checked the time on his phone, 10:23 pm. After they finished it, Dave got up.   
“Well, it's almost eleven, I should probably head back to my dorm. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, I guess?” He said, stretching out. Kanaya stood up too.   
“Dave is right, I should probably go back too. Thanks for having us, you two.” She said. Karkat nodded and the two left, Dave, getting changed in the bathroom. He got in bed which felt like heaven compared to sitting on the floor for hours, and he opened up pesterchum.

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] started pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 23:12 -- 

TG: hey is this karkat 

TG: i know we literally just hung out for five hours but i wanted to make sure i had the right handle 

CG: YES YOU HAVE THE RIGHT HANDLE, IDIOT. 

CG: ALSO, YOUR MOVIE CHOICES SUCKED TONIGHT AND I DIDN’T GET THE CHANCE TO PROPERLY TELL YOU HOW SHITTY OF A MOVIE "DUDE, WHERE’S MY CAR" IS. SO THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THE THREE OF US THROUGH THAT. 

TG: dude you are so welcome anytime you want to witness a masterpiece of film just hit me up and i will deliver 

CG: OH, JOY. I CAN WITNESS ONLY THE WORST MOVIES WHENEVER I WANT! I FEEL SO BLESSED. 

CG: BUT WE SHOULD DO THAT AGAIN SOMETIME, I ACTUALLY ENJOYED THE MOVIES ROSE AND KANAYA PICKED AND I PROBABLY WOULDN’T HAVE WATCHED THEM ON MY OWN. 

CG: WHO THE FUCK KNEW COMEDY ELDRITCH HORROR MOVIES WERE A THING. 

TG: i know right rose has got some weird interests but hell if they arent entertaining 

TG: okay i am going to slap the wheat so goodnight asshole 

CG: WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN. 

TG: hit the hay 

TG: and now im going to bed for real 

CG: OKAY, GOODNIGHT. 

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 23:29 --


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo! im actually super inspired to get this written right now so heres chapter four out much earlier than i thought id get it out! its a bit short but things actually start happening next chapter and im real excited to get into the actual plot!! (i also fixed up the summary and added some tags because wow, the summary was pretty bad) hope yall enjoy the chapter!

It had been about a few days into classes now, and Dave already was falling behind on his homework. He was able to get the information down for his classes no problem but the homework was just so tedious. And he had better things to do, like update SBaHJ and work on new music. He was a music major, so he did have to practice using different instruments, but sticking to what he was used to was so much easier. He also hated letting others hear him practice, which didn't leave much room for it anyway. 

Aside from Dave, his new “friends” (roommates) seemed to all be excited about actually learning more about what they wanted and having less mandatory classes, and were actually on top of their work, which meant Dave usually had someone home to pester when he wasn't in the music wing or in class. The best part of the week was after Karkat’s morning class that lasted three hours, for which Dave was just waking up when Karkat gets back and was the best time to annoy him because he was already pissed off. Kanaya didn’t seem to mind talking to him while working though, and Dave had been tormenting Rose for years, so Karkat was really the only one who actually got pissed off at him, and how it was glorious. Dave was surprised Rose hadn’t told him to stop because Karkat was a loud typer, and even louder in person.

It was around noon when Dave got home, and Rose and Karkat had just left for a shared class about psychology or something, and Kanaya was out for some reason that Kanaya and Karkat seemed pretty tight-lipped about. He was home alone and hadn’t actually worked on practicing sheet music, so he searched under his bed with one arm until he pulled out his guitar and sat on his bed. He hadn’t played since the first semester of senior year, where he’d picked it up for class and now was doing the same thing. He’d learned a few songs that he liked of his own will, but was pretty rusty on chords so he played one of his old favorite songs that he knew by memory still. The song wasn’t long but he hummed the words as he strummed as quietly as possible, still listening for anyone. 

Dave wasn’t sure why he’d hated practicing and playing live for others, he’d never really had any negative experience with it, but even still. He liked it when he could play the perfect version of his music, completely in control of it and unable to make mistakes. He had only had three people hear him play, Rose, Roxy, and Dirk, and even then it was accidental. They’d all said he was good at playing music, but he still hated it. But he realized as he finished up the song how much he missed playing guitar without even thinking about it for months, even bringing the guitar was more for his classes than him thinking he should play it more. And then the door opened.

Dave shoved the guitar under the bed as fast as he could and realized it was from Rose and Karkat’s room. He walked into the kitchen, pretending to look for a snack when Karkat walked past the hallway, bag in hand.  
“Hey, Dave. Forgot my binder and I was just grabbing it.” He said, waving at him.  
“Oh. Uh, cool. See you later then? You should probably get back to class, it’s a miracle your professor even lets you come all the way back to the dorms,” Dave said, feigning nonchalance.  
“Yeah, I know. You sound like Crabdad. My lusus was always on my ass and now that I’m in college I have a replacement! Woohoo Strider, always coming to the rescue.” He said, rolling his eyes.   
“Hell yeah, I’m like your big ass white animal thing. Being a lusus would be way cooler, but I’m stuck with this shitty human body.” Dave dramatically shook his fist. “Curse thou Evolution, for putting upon me the burden of a terrible human body.”   
“Okay, I seriously have to leave, asshole. See you later.”  
“Later.” Dave waved as he left, and crashed back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He decides not to play the guitar again.

The next little while is pretty quiet until Karkat invited Dave to hang out with some of his troll friends.  
“Wait so, you want me? To hang out? With you and your friends?” Dave asks, genuinely surprised.  
“Yeah, I assumed you guys would probably get along, and you haven’t met all of the old friend group,” Karkat says, shrugging  
“Sweet, sounds fun. What’s going on?” Dave says, putting down his phone.   
“They’re playing this nerd game in the library. I’ve only played one or two games, but it’s fun to watch and to hang out with them anyway. It’s tonight, in about two hours. I’ll come to get you when we gotta leave.” Karkat replies, and Dave is already making his way to his room to get ready.

Karkat brought him across campus to the library on campus, while Dave complained about how cold it was, and as soon as the door shut behind them with a thud a group of trolls sitting around a coffee table on the couches called them over. Dave recognized Terezi, Vriska, and Nepeta with them, but there were a few he didn’t recognize, like one with big horns and one wearing what looked like clown pants. When he sat down on a couch next to Terezi, she grinned at him.   
“Oh shit, it’s Dave! Dude, you haven’t met Tavros or Gamzee yet, huh? Tavros is the bronzeblood with the big ass horns, and Gamzee is the guy with a shit ton of Faygo.” She said, pointing them out but pointing in the wrong directions. Dave let out a ‘hey,’ to them, in which Gamzee waved and Tavros said hello in response.   
“Alright assholes, everyone’s here so let’s get started,” Vriska said, at the end of the table with a little wall made up of cardboard around her section of the table. 

The game lasted a few hours, everyone lazing on the couches and playing what Vriska considered to be a “lazy game”, which happened to just be nobody’s characters dying. Dave thought he’d have been bored, but really he’d actually laughed so hard he’d nearly cried a few times, as the nerd game was way less scripted than he’d thought and it was more whatever the fuck the trolls wanted to do. Nepeta had at one point asked Equius to bring food, so they’d eaten their fill of junk food and shitty pop by the time the session ended, which was nearly midnight. Karkat and Dave had left together, and they walked across campus in the moonlight. It was a quiet night outside, as most people at midnight on a Friday night were in the dorms or out late, or at home. When they got back to the dorms, Rose and Kanaya were talking in the kitchen and they waved as they came in. Dave got in bed, so ready for the weekend, and opened his phone. Shit. He’d been added to a group chat with all the trolls that were at the meeting, and they’d already blown up his phone. He sent a few messages before shutting off his phone and passing out.


End file.
